ACCORDING to national press reports, the State spends £5 for every £4 raised this year because of falling receipts and rising expenditure, thus pushing public debt to a record £823 billion.

Can we possibly afford to increase our payments to the EU by 2.9 per cent as Germany and France wanted in August and which the Prime Minister has agreed to when in August he said he wanted a zero increase? Now he claims he has persuaded Europeans to accept 2.9 per cent and is claiming a great victory. Who for?

Dennis Barton, Woodthorpe, York.